Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2006-07: Shayne Taker skated in seven games with the Richmond Sockeyes in the Pacific International Junior Hockey League in British Columbia as a 17-year-old. He had 1 assist with 8 penalty minutes.

2007-08: Taker split his first full season in the PIJHL between Richmond and the Mission Icebreakers. In 47 regular season games he scored 8 goals with 22 assists and 28 penalty minutes. In 11 playoff games for the Sockeyes he had no points and 18 penalty minutes.

2008-09: Taker began the year playing for the New England Stars in the International Junior Hockey League before returning to British Columbia to skate for the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. In 25 game for the Capitals he scored 1 goal with 6 assists and 6 penalty minutes.

2009-10: Taker was Cowichan Valley’s fourth-leading scorer and led all Capitals defensemen with 37 points in his second BCHL season. In 59 regular season games he scored 6 goals with 31 assists and had 44 penalty minutes. Cowichan Valley finished seventh in the Coastal Division. In five playoff games Taker had 1 assist and 6 penalty minutes. After originally committing to play college hockey with Atlantic Hockey’s Sacred Heart in the fall, he changed his decision after receiving interest from bigger schools and in January he committed to playing at Notre Dame in 2010-11.

2010-11: Taker skated in 31 of 44 games for Notre Dame in his freshman season. Frequently paired with junior Sean Lorenz, a 2008 Minnesota Wild draft pick, he scored 1 goal with 8 assists and was +7 with 4 penalty minutes. Notre Dame finished second behind Michigan in the CCHA. The Fighting Irish received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament despite back-to-back losses to Miami and Michigan in the CCHA semifinal and third place games. Notre Dame defeated Merrimack and New Hampshire to win the Northeast Regional championship and reach the Frozen four before falling to Minnesota-Duluth, 4-3.

2011-12: Taker was invited to Chicago’s prospect camp and played in all 40 games for Notre Dame in his sophomore season — skating alongside fellow sophomore Stephen Johns (CHI). He scored 2 goals with 5 assists and was -6 with 4 penalty minutes. The Fighting Irish struggled to stay above .500 most of the season, finishing tied for eighth in the CCHA, and after sweeping Ohio State in the first round of the conference playoffs were swept by Michigan in a two-game quarterfinal series.

2012-13: Taker attended the Vancouver Canucks’ development camp before returning to Notre Dame for his junior season. Once again pairing with Johns for much of the year before playing alongside senior Sam Calabrese down the stretch and in the post-season, Taker was one of four Fighting Irish defensemen to finish with 13 or more points. Skating in all 41 games, he scored 1 goal with 12 assists and was +4 with 20 penalty minutes. Notre Dame was one of the big turnaround stories in college hockey — finishing second in the CCHA in the conference’s final season and then capturing the league playoff title with a 3-1 win over Michigan in the championship game. The Fighting Irish fell to St. Cloud State, 5-1, in the NCAA Midwest regional semifinals.

2013-14: Taker made his pro hockey debut with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage following his senior year at Notre Dame and in May signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers. He had no points nor penalties and was -7 in five AHL games. Taker scored 4 goals with 14 assists and was +5 with 10 penalty minutes in 40 games for Notre Dame. Moving to the Hockey East conference, the Fighting Irish finished seventh in the league during the regular season but went 8-1-1 in a late season stretch to reach the Hockey East semifinals, including three wins over top-ranked Boston College. Notre Dame received an at-large bid to the NCAA West Regional and lost to St. Cloud State, 4-3 in overtime, in the semfinals.

2014-15: Taker attended his first training camp with the Panthers before being assigned to AHL affiliate San Antonio and subsequently spent most of the season with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones. In four AHL games with the Rampage he was -3 with no points and 2 penalty minutes. Taker scored 3 goals with 12 assists and was +14 with 53 penalty minutes in 58 regular season games for Cincinnati.

Talent Analysis

Taker's size and skating attracted the attention of scouts following his college career at Notre Dame. Still adjusting to the faster pace and stronger forwards at the pro level, he has elements of his game such as his shot and first pass that impress. He is far from a complete defender at this point and must continue to refine his game.

Future

Taker was not re-signed by Florida, becoming an unrestricted free agent. He signed an ECHL contract with Utah at the start of the 2015-16 season — skating in 16 games with the Grizzlies — and was loaned to the AHL's San Diego Gulls in November 2015. Taker has shown offensive elements to his game at the ECHL level but has seen limited time at the AHL level. While his raw skills suggest he could one day contribute in a lower pairing role at the NHL level he is still a work in progress in terms of his defensive play.

Photo: Defenseman Alex Petrovic is playing in his third full season of professional hockey. Petrovic was a second round pick from the 2010 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The Florida Panthers minor league system is teeming with NHL-prospects who are waiting for opportunities on the Florida roster. Florida General Manager Dale Tallon hinted in the past few weeks that he may be looking to trade some of the more veteran forwards on the squad in order to facilitate some of that upward movement. Until then, the AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage are reaping the rewards of having top-notch talent playing throughout their lineup.

Photo: Forward Rocco Grimaldi is amidst his rookie season of professional hockey. Grimaldi was a second round pick from the 2011 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)

The Florida Panthers organization looks much different now than it did even two years ago. General Manager Dale Tallon’s rebuilding of the prospect system and the relative patience that his staff has shown in allowing those prospects to mature has started to bear fruit. Several players have moved through the pipeline to become NHL regulars or AHL players on the verge of graduating to the big leagues.

With the 2012-13 NCAA season winding down, NHL teams will soon be descending on the college hockey community in hopes of adding free agents to their organizations. This year, there are many outstanding available free agents for the taking.

Another in a series of weekly articles summarizing activity in Leafland during the previous 7 days – with some personal observations, commentary, prospect updates and fun thrown in for good measure.

Camp cuts – round two: The Toronto Maple Leafs this week announced that five additional players have been assigned to St. John’s of the AHL … they are forwards Konstantin Kalmikov, Shawn Thornton and Michel Travnicek and defencemen Petr Svoboda and Dimitri Yakushin … Kalmikov played with St. John’s last season and scored a career high 28 points (8G,20A) in 78 games … Thornton also played with St. John’s last year, scoring 16 points (4G,12A) in 60 games and leading the team in penalty minutes for the third straight year with 316 … Travnicek, who was Toronto’s 9th choice 1998, played with Litinov of the Czech Elite League last season and scored 9 points (3G,6A) in 51 games …Yakushin is also starting his third season with St. John’s, where he scored 14 points (G,13A) in 64 games last season … Svoboda, the most surprising name to be included on this list, played with Trinec of the Czech Elite League last season and has been a standout at the Leafs’ Main Camp this month … Toronto’s rationale seems to be that they want the young Czech blueliner to log heavy ice time early in the season while they are in the process of settling personnel on their NHL roster …Read more»